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Penn State voted best linebacker school, former Ohio State players disagree

Connor O'Gara

By Connor O'Gara

Published:

Google “Linebacker U.”

It’ll take you right to Penn State football’s wikipedia page.

That’s the historic name that Penn State goes by, and with good reason. Since the merger in 1967, nobody has had more linebackers drafted in the NFL than the Lions.

That’s why in an NFL Network poll, Penn State was voted the “Best Linebacker School” in the country:

On the surface few people should have a problem with that. The Lions have all-time greats like LaVar Arrington and Jack Ham, as well as current NFL stars like NaVorro Bowman, Tamba Hali and Sean Lee.

The proud tradition of Penn State linebackers helped fuel the program’s dominance during the Joe Paterno era. Nobody can debate that.

Former Ohio State players, however, weren’t happy about the slight.

The Buckeyes weren’t even one of the five teams in the list, which is surprising considering the fact that the Buckeyes have had 50 linebackers drafted, good for third all-time. Georgia, on the other hand, isn’t even in the top 10 in that department.

Naturally, a couple of former Buckeye linebackers questioned the exclusion:

https://twitter.com/DLeeMG8/status/724687858682998789

Ohio State might’ve been slighted for the fact that it only has four linebackers currently on NFL rosters. Penn State, on the other hand, has nine active linebackers.

Lee and Joshua Perry will change that after this week’s NFL draft, which would potentially give OSU five current linebackers drafted in the first two rounds.

But for now, Penn State holds the edge in public opinion.

Connor O'Gara

Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Tradition. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.